Hat packing box



March 17, 1953 P. SOMMERHAUSER HAT PACKING BOX Filed Feb. 28. 1952 I N VEN TOR r W Z P d Patented Mar. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFiCE HAT PACKING BOX Louis P. Sommerhauser, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

Application February 28, 1952, Serial No. 273,862

3 Claims.

This invention relates to hat holding means to be placed in a hat box and is intended for use by hat manufacturers in packing and shipping their products.

The structure of the hat holder is such that the hats within the container can be kept by the retail merchant after he receives the same from the manufacturer, free from dust and with out being crushed or misshaped.

In the felt hat manufacturing business, it is of great importance from the commercial view point that felt hats shall be so packed that when shipped they will not be subject to the pressure of any sustaining packing ring, or impressed or indented or marked by any retaining construction. It is also of great importance that hats shall not be dented or mussed up in any manner but shall be received substantially in perfect ironed condition, the same as the condition in which they were at the time of completion at the factory.

Also, it is of importance possible the number of packing boxes required, the weight of material used in such boxes, and in general the expense incident to such packing,

all without sacrificing the condition in which the hats will be received after shipment.

The present invention has been developed with the foregoing considerations in mind and has for its object to provide a combination of elements whereby a single or a plurality of felt hats may be packaged in superimposed or nested relation in such manner that no hat in the package will be subjected to the weight of any other hat or to any pressure of any part; and further to provide means for supporting several hats in nested relation in a cradle structure in a container so that the crowns of the inverted hats will not hit the bottom of the container nor will the brims of the hats come in contact with the sides of the container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hat shipping container which when received by the retailer can be used by him to store the hats and at the same time allow the hats when desired to be removed with a minimum of effort.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of my hat shipping container with the cover removed and shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing a modified form of one element, of the cradle device;

Fig. 3 is an expanded view of the cradle device shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, B is a typical oval shaped hat box generally made of heavy cardboard of sufiicient strength to stand substantially hard usage; and C isa removable cover for the same.

to reduce as far as- Attached to each wall of the hat box B is a closure retaining means for the cover C, namely a strap 3, one end of which is attached to the wall of the hat box B and the other end having thereon a buckle 4. The companion closure retaining means for the strap 3 is a strap 5 having holes 5 therein, attached to the other wall of the hat box B by a rivet 6 and a loop I through which the strap 5 is fed. Said loop is attached to the wall of the hat box by rivets 8. Both straps 3 and 5 are attached to the hat box B in the same manner.

Spaced equi-distant around the inner wall of the hat box B are four supporting members 9 which members form a cradle for supporting the hat or hats to be placed therein, so that the bottom hat crown is not in contact with the bottom of the container nor are the brims of the hats in contact with the walls of the container. Each member 9 comprises preferably an elongated strip of cardboard l0 attached to the inner wall of the hat box by rivets H. Midway between the ends of the cardboard strip l0 and the rivets II is formed a fiat shelf l2 projecting toward the center of the hat box. On this shelf I? there is superimposed for pivotal movement a hollow tab like member l3 of cardboard material, the elongated sides of the strip of cardboard forming the tab being closed by stapling rivets l4. This tab like member I3 is attached to the shelf l2 by a rivet l5, so that the outer end of the tab 13 can be turned in so as to lie parallel with the wall of the container. This is done by placing the rivet through the tab l3 at an inner corner thereof, removed from the hollow or cavity in the tab so that the rivet i5 penetrates the shelf [2 but does not enter the cavity in the tab. In the outer end of the hollow tab 13 is inserted an L-shaped piece of cardboard IS, the longer portion of the L-shaped cardboard H5 being inserted in the hollow tab it in such a manner that the L-shaped cardboard is frictionally engaged in the cavity of tab 53 for adjusting the outward position of the shorter portion ll of the tab. This shorter portion ll of the L-shaped cardboard I6 is projected upwardly to come in contact with the outer wall of the crown of the hat where the brim of the hat joins the same, as shown in Figv l of the drawings. The above described structure forms a support for the hats through their brims and a structure to prevent lateral movement of the hats so that the brims of the same will not come in contact with the inner wall of the hat box.

Having described the support for the nested hat or hats, I will now describe the holddown feature. An L-shaped arm [8 has its longer portion 18* thereof inserted between the wall of the hat box and the riveted elongated cardboard strip l and the shorter portion i9 thereof extends over the hollow tab [3 and its supporting shelf l2. The outer end of the shorter portion Id of the arm i8 is formed with an open end cavity 26. In this cavity is inserted the 1onger leg of an L-shaped member 2|, the shorter leg 22 of the L-shaped member projecting over the brim of the hat and downwardly into the crown of the inverted hat, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. This L-shaped member 2| like the L-shaped member I6 is frictionally engaged in the cavity 2B of the L-shaped arm I3. On the lower side of one arm of the L-shaped member [9 there is attached a button shaped member 23, this button shaped member forming a contact with the uppermost brim of the inverted hat.

While the material used in making the supporting cradle shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings has been described as being of cardboard or heavy paper, the same elements are shown in Figs. 2 and 3 as being made of some of the synthetic plastics. The elements are identical and therefore no description of the same is thought to be necessary.

While Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings show a single hat within the hot box, it is contemplated that three or four hats or maybe half a dozen would be stacked in nested relation, 1. e., the crown of one hat telescoping the crown of another hat and the several hats within being placed in the cradle construction within the hat box. Further, while only four elements forming the cradle for the hat or hats are shown in the drawings, it is contemplated to use a taller hat box and have a series of cradle elements forming tiers of cradles to increase the capacity of a single hat box.

As the upper and lower elements of each cradle unit. i. e., the L-shaped arms I8 are removable when lifted up from behind the strip Iii, and the tab [3 turns by its pivotal connection on the shelf I2 so that the same lies parallel with the walls of the hat box, it will be seen that it is easy to remove or place hats in the hat box and this is emphasized when there are several tiers of cradles Within the hat box.

The point of contact of the holding devices of the cradle units with the hat or hats has been minimized so that the hat or hats will not be chafed or rubbed and therefore have the finish thereon marred.

From the above description, it will be seen that this invention covers a supporting cradle to be used in hat boxes and that the cradle for the hats is efficient and readily removable for access to the hats contained therein.

What is claimed is:

1. In a hat storage and shipping container having a bottom, a cover and side walls, the combination of a series of units spaced around the inner walls of the hat container a like distance from the bottom thereof, said units comprising an elongated strip of material fastened at each end thereof to the walls of the container, and having a shelf formed in the middle thereof projecting towards the center of the container, an open end tab having a cavity therein pivotally mounted at one corner thereof to the shelf adjacent said elongated strip, an elongated strip of material the longer portion of which is frictionally engaged in the cavity of the elongated tab and the outer shorter portion is bent upwardly to engage and support a hat brim, an elongated Leshaped strip of material having a cavity in 4 the shorter outer end thereof, the longer portion being engaged between the Wall of the container and the first mentioned elongated strip, an L- shaped arm the longer portion of which is frictionally engaged in the cavity of the material of the strip and lies over the brim of an inverted hat, the shorter arm portion of said arm being bent down to engage in the crown of the hat.

2. In a hat storage and shipping container having a bottom, a cover and side walls, the combination of a series of units spaced around the inner walls of the hat container a like distance from the bottom thereof, said units comprising an elongated strip of material fastened at each end thereof to the walls of the container, and having a shelf formed in the middle thereof projecting towards the center of the container, an open end tab having a cavity therein pivotally mounted at one corner thereof to the shelf adjacent said elongated strip, an elongated strip of material the longer portion of which is frictionally engaged in the cavity of the elongated tab and the outer shorter portion is bent upwardly to engage and support a hat brim, an elongated L-shaped strip of material having a button shaped element on the bottom side thereof, a cavity in the shorter outer end thereof, the longer portion being engaged between the wall of the container and the first mentioned elongated strip, an L-shaped arm the longer portion of which is frictionally engaged in the cavity of the material of the strip and lies over the brim of an inverted hat, the shorter arm portion of said arm being bent down to engage in the crown of the hat.

3. In a hat storage and shipping container having a bottom, a cover and side walls, the combination of a series of units forming a cradle spaced around the inner walls of the hat container a like distance from the bottom, and other units forming the cradle spaced around the walls of the container a distance above the first series of units, each of said cradles comprising units made of elongated strips of material fastened at each end thereof to the Walls of the container, and having a shelf formed in the middle thereof projecting towards the center of the container, an open end tab having a cavity therein pivotally mounted at one corner thereof to the shelf adjacent said elongated strip, an elongated strip of material the longer portion of which is frictionally engaged in the cavity of the elongated tab and the outer shorter portion is bent upwardly to engage and support a hat brim, an elongated L-shaped strip having a cavity in the shorter outer end thereof, and a button shaped element on the bottom side, said L-shaped strip being engaged between the wall of the container and the first mentioned elongated strip, an L-shaped arm the longer portion of which is frictionally engaged in the cavity of the material of the sec.- ond mentioned strip and lies over the brim of an inverted hat, the shorter arm portion of said arm being bent down to engage the crown of the hat.

LOUIS P. SOMMERI-IAUSER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date B61021 Richards Sept. 9, 1890 659,363 Cannan Oct. 9, 1900 2,386,407 Rottman Oct. 9, 1945 

